Self-defense devices

ABSTRACT

A self-defense device includes a notification or alarm component configured to be used with a personal item, wherein the notification or alarm component is a whistle or an alarm device. The personal item may be a hairpiece, a keychain, a glove, a purse, an earring, a belt, or a handbag. The notification or alarm component may be an electronic device that can makes a loud sound or send an electronic signal that communicates with a cell phone or an alarm center.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This claims the priority of Provisional Application No. 62/665,506, filed on May 2, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to self-defense devices that are easy to carry and are inconspicuous.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Personal safety is a prime concern for many people. Many personal safety devices are available, such as whistles, pepper sprays, and stun guns. These are additional items that one needs to carry around and are not readily available. Therefore, there is a need for personal safety or self-defense devices that are easy to carry and preferably inconspicuous.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention relate to personal safety and self-defense devices that are easy to carry and are inconspicuous such that they can be carried by users in any occasions. Being easy to carry and inconspicuous makes these devices more useful and be readily available when unexpected situations arise. These devices may be used individually or in combination depending on user's needs.

One aspect of the invention relates to self-defense devices. A self-defense device in accordance with one embodiment of the invention includes a notification or alarm component configured to be used with a personal item, wherein the notification or alarm component is a whistle or an alarm device. An alarm device may be a siren or an alarm signal transmitting device. The personal item may be a hairpiece, a keychain, a glove, a purse, an earring, a belt, or a handbag. The notification or alarm component may be an electronic device that can make a loud sound (siren) or send an electronic signal that communicates with a cell phone, a vehicle, or an alarm center, or the like.

Other aspects of the invention would become apparent with the following detailed description and the attached claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A, shows the top view of a hairpiece with a whistle stick in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1B shows a side view of the hairpiece with a whistle stick of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1C shows a perspective view of a hairpiece with a whistle stick of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1D shows a perspective view of a hairpiece of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1E shows a perspective view of a whistle stick of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2A shows a siren keychain having an alarm function in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2B shows the siren keychain of FIG. 2A with the cover removed to show the internal components.

FIG. 2C shows the siren keychain of FIG. 2A with the alarm pin inserted.

FIG. 2D shows the siren keychain of FIG. 2A with the alarm pin detached/removed.

FIG. 3A shows a glove having a self-defense mechanism that may be a whistle or alarm or a counter attack device (e.g., electrodes for generating electric shocks) in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3B shows another embodiment of a glove having a hidden whistle and/or an area containing a special material that can be used for self-defense.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention relate to personal safety or self-defense devices that are easy to carry and are inconspicuous, making it feasible to carry them any time in any occasion. These devices may be used individually or in combination depending on user's needs.

In accordance with embodiments, a device may be based on a typical personal item, such as a hairpiece (e.g., a hair bobbin or a hair clip), a key chain, or a glove. The following will use a few specific embodiments to illustrate embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the art would appreciate that these specific examples are for illustration only and that other modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

In a generic embodiment, a device of the invention comprises a notification or alarm component or mechanism that is to be used with a typical personal item. The notification or alarm component or mechanism may form parts of the typical personal item or may be used in association with the typical personal item. A notification or alarm component or mechanism may be any that can send a notification or alarm, such as a whistle or a more sophisticated electronic mechanism (e.g., an alarm or a signal sending device, which, for example, may send a silent signal to a monitor center or police).

Examples of an electronic mechanism may include that sends an alarm (e.g., loud audible alarm) or an electronic notification signal to a receiving device (such as a receiver in an alarm monitor center or a cell phone that is carried by the user). The electronic notification signal may be via cellular communication, WIFI, Bluetooth, or the like. Such wireless communications methods are commonly used and would not be elaborated here.

As an example, FIGS. 1A-1E show different views of a hairpiece 11 that includes a whistle stick or pin 12 that may be used with a generic hairpiece. FIG. 1A shows a top view. FIG. 1B shows a side view. FIG. 1C shows a perspective view. FIG. 1D shows a perspective view of the hairpiece 11 alone. FIG. 1E shows a perspective view of the whistle stick 12 alone. While a hairpiece with a specific decorative design is shown, one skilled in the art would appreciate that the designs of the hairpiece or the whistle/pin may be varied for aesthetic reasons without affecting the functions of these safety or self-defense devices. In some embodiments, a whistle stick may be designed to work with several hairpieces with different designs in an interchangeable manner. Therefore, the user can choose different designs for particular outfits or for personal desire.

Referring to FIG. 1D, the curvature of the hairpiece 11 not only accommodates the volume of hair when fixed in a hairstyle, but when it is transferred the hand as a handheld tactical device, the curvature fits in the palm ergonomically. The curvature of the hairpiece specially deviates and ends in a tactical point of impact 13. The shape of the curve and the lifted tactical point lends stability when resting on a surface, allowing the hairpiece to sit on a flat plane without rolling around. The unique shape of the curve also enables the hairpieces to be stacked when stored away.

Referring to FIG. 1E, the whistle 12 may be a simple whistle, which will make noise when blown by the user. The body of whistle may have grips or design 14 to stay secured in hair. These grip designs 14 may feature silicone rubber or other elastomer polymer for its viscoelastic properties, allow it to resist shear and stay in hair or alternatively, in hand when being used as a whistle. Alternatively, the whistle may be an electronic device, which may give off loud noise or sends an electronic notification signal when pull from (disengage from) the remaining part of the hairpiece or when activated (e.g., pressing a button) by the user. The electronic signals are sent via wireless communications, such as cellular, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi. For example, the electronic signals may communicate with a cell phone, which may then notify close friends and/or an alarm center or a law enforcement agency. Alternatively, the electronic signals may be sent directly to an alarm/monitor center or a law enforcement agency. In yet another alternative embodiment, the electronic signal may communicate with the user's vehicle to activate the horn to sound an alarm or to notify a remote monitoring center. Other similar notification methods are possible and will not be exhausted here.

While the embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1E using a hairpiece, one skilled in the art would appreciate that the same mechanism can be applied in other personal items, such as a keychain, a glove, a purse, an earring, a belt, or a handbag.

FIGS. 2A-2D show another example of a device of the invention. As shown in FIG. 2A, this particular example is a tactical siren keychain 20, which may be siren (alarm) by itself or works with another device (e.g., a cell phone or a car horn). The siren keychain 20 may be activated by any mechanism, such as by pressing a button on the device or by pulling a pin switch attached to the keychain. In this example, the device also has a pointed end 21 that may be used for self-defense. The surface of the tactical device and point of impact 21 may be lined with D3O, which is a polyurethane energy-absorbing material that contains polyborodimethylsiloxane and several additives. Polyborodimethylsiloxane is a substance dilatant that in its raw state flows freely (a fluid), but on impact/shock, the molecules lock together to absorb and disperse energy as heat. The locked state of this material is hard. Thus, the impact point 21 becomes hard when needed.

FIG. 2B show the tactical siren keychain 20 with its cover removed to show the various components inside. In this particular example, the siren keychain 20 may include an alarm pin 22, a Bluetooth microchip 23, a capacitor 24, a siren 25, and a battery 26. One skilled in the art would appreciate that this example is for illustration only and other variations or modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the Bluetooth microchip 23 may be replaced with a cellular communication chip or a Wi-Fi chip.

The alarm pin 22 may be used as an on-off switch for the siren keychain 20. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2C, when the alarm pin 22 is inserted in the siren keychain 20, the siren would not go off. When the alarm pin 22 is pulled (i.e., released from the device), it may activate the siren, as shown in FIG. 2D.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B show another example embodied as gloves. As shown in FIG. 3A, a glove 30 of the invention may incorporate various self-defense mechanism, such as a siren/panic alarm pin 32 or electrodes 31 that can generate an electric shock on the attacker in a manner like a taser.

FIG. 3B shows that the glove 30 may have an alternative self-defense mechanism, such as a hidden whistle/siren 33 or a special protective lining 34 that is normally flexible but can become hardened when needed. The lining material for example may be D3O. Thus, the area of the glove that contains this material can become a defensive shield or as an offensive tool.

The glove protects the hand's hypothenar eminence. The hypothenar eminence is a group of three intrinsic hand muscles, the “digiti minimi” that controls the motion of the little finger. It is the palm area used in self-defense and martial arts to land knife hand strikes, hence the design and placement of D3O lining and electric taser points.

Embodiments of the invention may have one or more advantages of the following: a device of the invention is based on a personal item that is commonly used by a user. The device would be inconspicuous such that a user can carry the device any time. The devices are simple and easy to carry, and they are easy to use. Some embodiments may include remote notification of close friends or family members, an alarm center, or a law enforcement agency.

The above set forth several exemplary embodiments. These limited examples are for illustration only. Various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, other personal items that may be used with an embodiment of the invention may include a purse, a wallet, an earring, a clothing, a handbag, a belt, a pen, etc. Therefore, the scope of the protection should only be limited by the attached claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A self-defense device, comprising: a notification or alarm component configured to be used with a personal item, wherein the notification or alarm component is a whistle or an alarm device.
 2. The self-defense device according to claim 1, wherein the personal item is one selected from the group consisting of a hairpiece, a keychain, a glove, a purse, an earring, a belt, and a handbag.
 3. The self-defense device according to claim 1, wherein the notification or alarm component is an electronic device that can makes a loud sound or send an electronic signal that communicates with a cell phone or an alarm center.
 4. The self-defense device according to claim 1, wherein personal item is a hairpiece.
 5. The self-defense device according to claim 1, wherein the personal item is a keychain.
 6. The self-defense device according to claim 1, wherein the personal item is a glove.
 7. The self-defense device according to claim 6, wherein the glove comprise an area made of a material that is normally flexible and can become hardened upon impact or shock.
 8. The self-defense device according to claim 7, wherein material is D3O. 